

DAVID BOWIE
A rare original offset photogravure plate for the cover of the album ‘Heroes’, RCA Victor, France, circa 1977
A rare original offset photogravure plate for the cover of the album ‘Heroes’, RCA Victor, France, circa 1977
Metal offset master plate used in the industrial printing process for the cover of David Bowie’s album *Heroes*, the French RCA Victor edition, originally released in October 1977.
This plate features a negative of the iconic black-and-white portrait taken by Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita, the image of which—showing a raised arm and hand—was subsequently transferred onto the cardboard sleeves sold in France.
An internal photogravure tool used by the printer and normally destroyed after printing, this type of master plate is rarely preserved outside the workshop, which gives the object a virtually unique character and a direct link to the production chain of the French edition’s vinyl sleeves. Originally belonging to Francis Fotorino, director of the RCA label at the time, the plate remained in a private collection for several decades.
Today, this unusual object, at the crossroads of rock memorabilia, the history of record cover design and the industrial archaeology of offset printing techniques, is being offered for sale.
Dimensions: 70 x 71 cm
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